Analyzing the Differences of the Effectiveness of Physical Manipulatives and Virtual Manipulatives
Manipulatives are used in the teaching of mathematics to aid in student learning. There are two main categories of manipulatives. Physical manipulatives are mathematics manipulatives one can manipulate tangibly. Virtual manipulatives are those one can manipulate through a computer. This research will examine and compare the effectiveness both forms of manipulatives have on student learning, especially in relation to a student's learning style. Approximately fifty (50) college students will be used for this research. The participants will take an on-line multiple intelligence inventory. Afterwards, the participants will take a pre-test to gauge each participant's understanding of a particular mathematical concept. Then, the workshops will begin. The participants will be divided into two groups. The first group (Group A) will work with the physical manipulative. The second group (Group B) will work with the virtual manipulative. At the conclusion of the first workshop, the participants will be administered a post-test, followed by interviews. Then, the groups will switch manipulatives. Group A will work with the virtual manipulative while Group B will work with the physical manipulative. At the conclusion of the second workshop, the participants will be administered a second post-test, followed by interviews. Through this process, I expect to determine (a) which manipulative is more effective in student learning, and (b) if there is a correlation between the type of manipulative and a learner's learning style, gender, race/ethnicity, major/discipline, and home region.
School:
Jackson State University
Department:
Mathematics Education
Research Advisor:
Lisa Bievenue
Department of Research Advisor:
National Center for Supercomputing Applications
Year of Publication:
2002